Extra-long buses come with big flaws, CTA says

March 13, 2005|By Jon Hilkevitch, Tribune transportation reporter.

Alarmed about serious defects in its new extra-long buses, the Chicago Transit Authority has stopped payments on the $102 million contract because the financially struggling manufacturer is resisting demands to fix many of the problems, transit officials said.

The most worrisome flaw involves cracks that developed in the chassis of a bus that was put through an accelerated durability test, officials said. The test involves running a bus 12,000 miles on a track that contains potholes and other hazards to approximate the wear and tear the fleet of buses would experience over time.

The 226 new accordion-style buses, produced since 2003 by North American Bus Industries Inc. (NABI), are warranted for 12 years or 500,000 miles. But cracks around the axles and the joint connecting the articulated midsection of the 60-foot-long test bus have raised questions about the vehicles' service life, said Richard Winston, CTA executive vice president of transit operations.

"The problem won't show itself until down the road," Winston said. The CTA agreed conditionally to accept the buses, but repairs must still be made under the warranty.

The CTA is still waiting for delivery of the last two buses. The entire order was supposed to be completed in January 2004, but it was delayed by assembly-line problems, forcing the CTA to keep some of its older buses on the streets longer.

Winston said the busmaker has made several improvements--some more successful than others--during production of the buses. But the company still hasn't provided the CTA with a plan to ease the structural fatigue along the frame, Winston said. CTA officials have demanded a plan and assurances that NABI will pay for the changes before the transit agency will free up more than $16 million in payments it is withholding.

"Some of the problems with earlier buses were addressed in later deliveries," Winston said. "But NABI still has not stepped up to the plate."

Criticism from riders

CTA customers who have ridden the new buses complain about rear exit doors that are difficult to push open and slow to close, delaying buses on their routes.

"There is obviously a major design flaw in how the rear door works," said Kevin Stanley, a North Side CTA customer. "Passengers become confused and some even angry when the rear doors don't work. And the drivers become frustrated when they have to continue to remind and motion people to exit at the front of the bus."

Winston blamed the problem on poor alignment of parts in connection with the geometry of the back door. He said NABI is replacing shafts and gears to help the doors work better.

The buses, many of which serve busy lakeshore express routes from the North and South Sides, also produce an unusually bumpy ride that magnifies the bone-jarring effect of each pothole, critics say.

"Bouncing up and down on these new buses reminds me of a Jeep ride I once took in the mountains of Arizona," said Deborah Donberg, who rides the No. 147 Outer Drive Express.

NABI has agreed to replace suspension parts to make the ride smoother.

Other complaints include improperly clamped cables and malfunctioning electronic route signs. Some riders have even called on the CTA to bring back the 20-year-old rust-buggy buses that were bought in 2000 from King County Metro in Seattle. Those buses were used until the NABI buses arrived.

The NABI buses do have some redeeming features. CTA officials said passengers have commented that the interiors are spacious and riders are more likely to get a seat than on other buses.

Many workers left company

But the overall quality of the buses has been disappointing in part because some of the best workers at NABI's factory in Anniston, Ala., have been lured away by the higher salaries offered at a nearby Nissan Motor Co. assembly plant, CTA officials said. The transit agency increased the number of its own inspectors sent to the NABI factory, at CTA expense, to prevent shoddy work from getting out the door, agency officials said.

"We have been so dissatisfied with NABI's performance that we have withheld money and are looking at our other legal options under this contract," said CTA spokeswoman Noelle Gaffney. "The problem is not only with the bus, but with the company."

The top official at NABI, whose parent company, NABI Rt., is based in Hungary, said he is committed to resolving the problems, but the CTA must cooperate by reinstating the $16 million in payments that were recently cut off.

"We don't want to get into litigation and a prolonged war," said J. Daniel Garrett, interim chief executive officer at NABI Inc. "But it is our position that some of the money Chicago is withholding, they don't have a right to withhold."

Garrett said it's important that the CTA "acknowledge progress on our part, even if it is baby steps." He said it may take several years to correct all the flaws.